The Syrian crisis has become the defining humanitarian concern of the early 21st century. With over 400,000 dead and millions displaced, regional and international actors have been overwhelmed by the logistical and political strains of supporting Syrians. Because women and children comprise eighty percent of all refugees and Internally Displaced Persons across Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey, this Task Force elected to focus on the specific needs of this vulnerable population. Our report employs an inter-sectoral approach to identify both short and long-term gaps in women and children's rights and representation, economic opportunities, and their access to healthcare and education in Syria and the four major refugee-hosting countries. Data was collected through a a wide array of sources ranging from government reports to academic articles, the diversity of which enabled the report to look beyond the symptomatic issues facing women and children towards some of the more systemic cultural, political and historical factors which have influenced the conflict and the place of women and children within it. Our report concludes with policy recommendations for short-term relief, as well as the eventual reconstruction of Syria. This report was prepared for the Jackson School's capstone course, and has been evaluated by Ryan Crocker, former U.S Ambassador to Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

A popular video seen on the world-wide web has introduced the notion that Spanish and Arabic are practically the same language, and assumptions that if one can speak Spanish they can also speak Arabic. The evidence offered for such a claim is wholly based on nine words that are similar in contemporary Arabic and Spanish, and the fact that there was a Moorish occupation in Spain from 711-1492 AD. The Moorish kingdom's influence is certainly still seen throughout Southern Spain, and there are remnants of borrowed words in the language. However, the two languages are significantly diverse syntactically, morphologically, phonologically, and semantically outside of a small percentage of word borrowings. This research provides a partial a quantitative and qualitative contrastive and comparative analysis of Arabic influences in the 5,000 most frequently used words in Spanish. Additionally, this project provides a listing of usage frequencies of those words and others derived from Arabic that are still used today. Derivational histories and cultural influences are also provided.

My research investigated how the art form of dance functions as a language, and evaluated its ability to communicate. I examined how both the individual and collective embodied experiences of dance were used to create what dance linguist Henrietta Bannerman describes as “abstract messaging”, which relies on deeper contextual and conversational relationships between the dancers and the audience, in order to communicate successfully. The implications of my study may suggest that dance is a successful tool in communicating across difference. Given our current political climate and time of social difference, communication is vital in promoting social change. The arts in general are often rooted in activism and many major dance forms were created in response to oppression. Along with comparing various theories regarding performativity, affect and kinesiology and interviewing choreographers, I organized a performance-based study. Groups of dancers were asked to create a piece of choreography that was inspired by a specific word that related to a theme of difference. Then I received responses from audience members, both dancers and non-dancers, regarding their perceptions of the content performed in order to evaluate the dancers’ ability to communicate. I then interviewed the dancers to see how their embodiment of a concept changed or deepened their understanding of it. I hypothesized that dancers would gain a deeper understanding of the concepts they worked with, and that communication would appear more successful to other dancers.

Previous research has found that alcohol consumption among young adults is linked to an increased likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex. When examining the likelihood of safe sex practices, additional research has found that having sex at a younger age (<14) is associated with a lower likelihood of using contraception. However, there is a gap in the literature around how number of sexual partners plays into this relationship. The current study aimed to investigate the association between age of first sex and number of lifetime sexual partners with condom use after alcohol consumption. We hypothesized age at first sexual experience would be positively correlated with condom use during penile-vaginal, anal, and oral sex while under the influence of alcohol in the past three months. Additionally, we hypothesized that the number of lifetime sexual partners would be negatively correlated with condom use in the past three months after alcohol consumption. To test these hypotheses, the present study (n = 1002) used data from a national sample of young adults, ages 18-20, who completed a one-time online survey. Participants were asked age at first penile-vaginal, anal, and oral sex as well as their number of lifetime sexual partners. Additionally, participants were asked number of times they had sex in the past three months after consuming alcohol and of those times, how often they used a condom. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between first age of sexual encounter and likelihood of using a condom, as well as number of lifetime partners and the likelihood of using a condom, both after consuming alcohol. Results from this study may help us understand how previous sexual experience is related to the likelihood of practicing safe sex after alcohol consumption.